Guadalupe Peak and El Capitan

Having worked at Carlsbad Caverns National Park in three previous winter seasons, I figure that I have hiked up Guadalupe Peak four or five times in the past. Today was a day for another ascent to the highest point in Texas. This time, however, I had another goal in mind for my hike: an ascent of the nearby, iconic El Capitan.

I drove to the park in the morning and was the first person to sign in and hike from the Pine Springs Trailhead for the day. The hike started off quite steep, steeper than I remembered from the past.

Still, I huffed and puffed my way up the mountain with amazing views across Pine Springs Canyon to Hunter Peak.

Along the way I found a few wildflowers, including paintbrush

and scarlet gilia.

I also saw some animal life in the form of a pair of mule deer.

Before I knew it I was standing on top of Texas. I signed the register on the summit and relaxed for a bit.

My adventure for the day was just beginning though. From the summit of Guadalupe Peak I hiked back down the trail a bit to a steep scree-filled slope where I dropped off the trail and over to the saddle between Guadalupe Peak and El Capitan. From a dry wash I started to ascend again, gaining a ridge with some serious exposure on the south side. I wouldn’t have wanted to be on that ridge on one of the windy days in the Guadalupes.

Eventually I made my way to what I believe is a false summit of El Capitan. There was a register in a cigar box inside of an ammo can there. I signed the register, but unconvinced that I had reached the true summit I headed down to a small saddle before ascending once again. On what I believed to be the true summit of El Capitan I found two glass jars containing summit registers.

I signed the one with more signatures in it. It had been placed on the summit back in 1989 and still had maybe 30 signatures in it.

It is amazing to think that this iconic peak sees so little foot traffic. After relaxing a bit and enjoying the view I slowly made my along the ridge that connects the two possible summits of ElCapitan. I saw a rock squirrel at an elevation of about 7,800 feet, as high as they are known to go.

When I arrived at the wash between Guad Peak and El Cap, I rested in the shade of an alligator juniper,

before slowly picking my way through the cactus and sotol to the Guadalupe Peak Trail.

Once on the trail again the going was easy back to my car and a cold Powerade that I purchased from a vending machine at the trailhead. It was a great day in the Chihuahuan desert!

Black River at Cottonwood Day Use Area

This morning I wanted to go on a little adventure, yet stay close to home. I had read about some trails new trails that have been built on the BLM lands that you pass on the way to Slaughter Canyon, so I decided to go check them out. I parked in the small parking lot there and then hit the trail following an old road. It was interesting to see some desert plants again. I saw some mesquite with seed pods

and lots of flowers in bloom.

Some of the flowers, like this primrose,

are closely related to flowers I would commonly see in Minnesota.  The trail eventually led to an old dam, and at the dam I crossed the Black River and explored a bit on the other side.  

The trail on the other side of the river was a bit over grown.

I found the skull of a small coyote and saw lots more wildflowers in bloom.

There were great views of the river and even a nice view of the distant Guadalupe Mountains.

As I returned to the car on a short paved path I even saw a pair of dung beetles hard at work.

Upon leaving the Cottonwood Day Use area I made the short drive to the Rattlesnake Springs unit of Carlsbad Caverns National Park.

There is a pleasant but little-used picnic area there under some big cottonwood trees. The springs also happen to be the park’s water source and are quite the desert oasis. I walked around the improved pond there and saw lots of little fish swimming around.  A nice relaxing little adventure!

Carlsbad, New Mexico: Our New Home

Some images from Eric and Noelle’s new home of Carlsbad, NM.

The Pecos Flume and a Roadrunner

A Potash Train

Pecos River

Heritage Park

Jim White Statue

The Riverwalk

Alibates Flint Quarries and Lake Meredith

I woke up this morning finally feeling recovered from my gluttony at the Big Texas Steak Ranch last night. I headed north out of town and headed for Lake Meredith National Recreation Area and Alibates Flint Quarries National Monument. I had a reservation for a tour at Alibates at 10 am, but I wanted to see what the NRA had to offer so I headed towards a spot I found on my map and guide called Mullinaw Creek. 

There was a hiking trail at Mullinaw Creek, but it petered out soon after it started. I hiked in a dry creek bed there for a while before turning around to get to my tour. 

On my trip to the Alibates Contact Station I passed by the interesting McBride ranch house which had been built back in 1903.

The Alibates site itself was excellent. I had my own personal tour and my guide was a volunteer who was knowledgeable and passionate about the quarry. The Alibates flint is a very colorful rock that was quarried and traded across the present United States for material for making weapons and tools.

While it was a hot hike to and from the quarry, I was glad that I had gone. The panhandle of Texas is a sparsely beautiful area with red soils and desert-like plant and animal species.

After my tour I checked out the contact station before heading south. I passed through Amarillo and was soon on my way to Lubbock. I stopped in Lubbock for lunch at Chipotle and then was back on the road. Before I knew it I had made it into New Mexico, my new home state. I passed through the depressing city of Hobbs and then found myself in my new hometown of Carlsbad.

Oklahoma City National Memorial and Washita Battlefield NHS

I was glad to be leaving the dirty, hot and boring strip of Kansas that I called home last night. It was good to pass into Oklahoma, even if it was still hot as hell. I ate breakfast at a Cracker Barrel and then headed south to Oklahoma City or OKC as some call it. I headed straight for the Oklahoma City National Memorial, site of the 1995 bombing at the hands of a domestic terrorist. I have to admit that before my visit I wasn’t really sure what kind of impression the site would leave in me, but I did find the place to be quite moving.

At first I strolled through the memorial itself. My first stop was the Survivor Tree, a 90+ year old American Elm tree that somehow survived the blast despite being just yards away from the Alfred P. Murrah Federal building once stood.

From the Survivor Tree I wandered over to the 9:01 Gate and looked across a reflecting pool to the 9:03 Gate.

The times on these gates are symbolic of the time before the blast, which occurred at 9:02, and the time after in which thousands of lives of those in Oklahoma City and around the world were changed. I passed through the gate and solemnly passed by the field of empty chairs.

Each one of the 168 chairs represents a live lost in the bombing.

From the memorial I decided to go and check out the museum there. While I feel the ten dollar entry fee is a bit too much, I did find the museum moving and informative. From memorial I headed west on I-40 and headed for Washita Battlefield National Historic Site. I stopped along the way for lunch at Baum’s, a fast food and dairy chain, before driving the final miles to the battlefield site. 

Washita Battlefield is the site of a massacre of Chief Black Kettle’s group of Cheyenne who were camped along the banks of the Washita River.

The visitor center offered a decent orientation film and some nice exhibits. Outside it was very hot (106 degrees F), but I still hiked the short trail through the baked grasslands. There wasn’t a whole lot to see on the hike, but it gave some perspective of the terrain on which the massacre had occurred. 

From Washita Battlefield I headed south back to I-40 and soon crossed into Texas. As I approached the small town of Groom it was readily apparent that I was in the Bible Belt. There was little on the radio besides conservative talk and country music, and I enjoyed listening to Rush Limbaugh bash liberals as I drove towards a huge silver cross. 

   

I found the Groom Cross to be so impressive, I just had to get off the interstate to admire it.

There were others there to see it as well, but the other folks who were there seemed to view their visits more along the lines of pilgrimages than I, who just saw the cross as a quirky roadside attraction on par with Carhenge or Stanley Marsh’s Cadillac Ranch. After a quick visit, I once again found myself on the interstate. Before I knew it I was in Amarillo for the next great adventure of the day, dinner at the Big Texan Steak Ranch.

Osceola, Iowa to South Haven, Kansas

I hit the road early this morning and quickly passed into Missouri. I stopped at the first rest area in Missouri and found it to be clean and pleasant. It was a prairie part of the state and the steel sculptures in the rest area played up the area’s prairie heritage. There were sculptures of bison and Native American hunters on horseback. 

After the short break I headed south and soon found myself in Kansas City.

I had never spent much time in KC and was a bit intrigued. I crossed the Missouri River on I-35 and took the first exit on the other side. I found myself in a park that ran along the banks of the Mighty Mo.

The park was pleasant with nice views of the river and as I walked I found myself in an interesting neighborhood with old refurbished warehouses that have been converted to offices and lofts. I also found a nice market featuring lots of produce and food vendors. 

After perusing the market I made my way back to the car and then headed across Kansas City and into Kansas. It was becoming a hot day. I hopped on the Kansas Turnpike and made my way through Wichita. I finally stopped for the day on the Kansas side of the border with Oklahoma. I am staying at a Motel 6 in a little place with just the motel, a gas station, and a closed Mexican restaurant. Needless to say there’s not much to do around here. I went to the gas station to get some food, but the pizza there looked like it been under the heat lamps for days. Oh well, I guess I’ll just go hungry tonight.